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#when i get my hands on a screenprinter and some ink it's OVER
lo-kom · 5 months
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Development of my 'Library for the Public Domain' project pt 2. - continuation (3rd November)
Continued to develop the dupes idea. Exposed my first screen with two designs I had created in Photoshop and did some tester textiles swatches. Initially, I just tested on much thinner textiles but later I started to more fully form my idea for an outcome I bought a far thicker fabric as I realised I wanted a material that could keep it's shape and stand up on its own. In the end the fabric I purchased from Brixton was a deadstock Cotton waxed fabric. They had this in two colours but I decided to go with the dark grey as I thought it might be a more neutral option to go with a wider range of other colours
All the images seemed to print fine on these swatches irrespective of how thick the fabric was. I made sure to get some advice from Charlotte and Eddie before I did my prints and Charlotte recommended I do a couple more passes than I usually would with the squeegee which seemed to work well
However, I started to experience more problems as I was repeat printing for the larger areas of fabric [see previous post]
Bought and pulled apart a market taurpalin bag and developed a pattern to stitch together my own one. As I started to work more with the fabric I realised just how thick it was and had a conversation with a woman in the uni art store who said that she didn't think they had sewing needles that would be thick enough for my fabric. This made me think that it might be less hassle to stitch the bag by hand. I think I was also thinking about my timeline in the leadup to the exhibition and the time I had left. In th end I decided that I had more control over several factors if I jsut did the stitching myself, and since it was just with a sewing needle, it was something that could easily be done from home. Ultimately I'm not sure if this was the right decision as it ended up being an extremely time-consuming task
Furthermore in the last tutorial I had with Jack before the exhibition he explained to me that the bag was pretty much a by-product or an outcome of the collection but it didn't display the collection itself (the dupes that I'd collected). This meant that in addition to the shopping bag I decided to work on displaying the dupes in some way that would give context to the bag in the exhibition
Came in the weekend before the exhibition to have another stab at screenprinting. Taking on board what I had learnt from my first attempt at printing on a larger scale (to avoid washing the screen between prints as much as possible; use a far larger, less dense image to be exposed; use the straight edge of the workbench next to me as a guide to keep my prints straight and work systematically down the piece of fabric (to cut down unnecessary time lost trying to line things up where the screen is drying out) etc...) Naturally, over the course of the repeat print process, I think I refined my print technique and learned what the screen should look like when flooding to ensure a good print that has the ink pass through the full image
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peevishpants · 3 years
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COMFY looks for lounging at home
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Bill Tavis:  One of the originals
For some reason Bill Tavis never made it onto my radar despite being one of what I would call one of the original gif artists.  He has made over 500 since 2010 and if you look at art on the internet for about 15 minutes you will probably see one of his trippy fractal gifs.  I recently posted some of his new gifs on Cross Connect (his 3rd time being featured there) and he generously answered my questions and had especially thoughtful responses about gifs as art.
Where are you located?  Where are you from?
I'm currently living in Austin, TX and grew up in Albuquerque, NM and moved around a few places in between
Do you have formal art training of any sort?
I got a Bachelor's Degree in Animation, and I have taken other classes in painting and programming. A lot of what I do is self-taught though. Also, I believe that you can learn techniques from others but that's only half of the puzzle. The other half is the inspiration and expression and those are things that just have to be felt.
What do you do for a living?
I self-publish fractal posters (www.mandelmap.com), I paint murals, and I sell fine art prints and do commissions
When did you start making gifs, and why?
I first started doing my halftone style back in 2005. It was all done by hand with ink on paper. Someone mentioned that it looked like a computer filter and so I thought I should actually make a filter, even though I didn't know how at the time, and I didn't think of animating it yet. At some point I saw a GIF of moving black and white lines, and I thought "what if those lines were changing thickness as well?" When I finally knew enough programming, right away I designed my halftone software to make looping animations, even though halftones are usually supposed to be for printing purposes. I didn't care because I was obsessed with the way the moving lines looked. I made my first halftone GIFs in 2010 but I didn't know where to upload them in that form, and so I converted them to video to share online. I also only made a few because my code was clunky and naive. In 2013 I improved my halftone software to the point where I could finally get really creative with it, and I also found Tumblr which seemed to be a great place for GIFs. Once I started it was like a faucet was opened, and I have made and uploaded more than 500 by this point.
What keeps you coming back?
I feel like this is my purpose and I think I have some interesting things to say, so I want to take an active part in culture and that requires constant work. My GIF output has slowed down in the last year but I haven't gone away, I'm just exploring new avenues of halftone expression! And there's now a backlog of GIFs wanting to get out of my brain so you can count on seeing more at some point!
What do you think about gifs as an Art Form?
GIFs are perfectly suited for looping animations, and I think loops are very artistic in nature because they don't have a beginning or an end. It's an infinitely suspended moving moment, rather than a finite linear progression like a movie. The lack of sound contributes to this quality. Also, GIF compression relies upon a limited color palette, so it is the perfect format for my halftone style because I am breaking things down into lines of just a few colors. GIFs are also cool because they are actually image files, not video. For those three reasons, I think the GIF format will continue to be relevant, and it has unique aesthetic characteristics that I've never seen in another medium.
Are you making money on your gif artwork?
I have had a couple commissions, but for the most part I haven't made money directly from my GIFs. It's so ephemeral that it's hard to monetize, and making money with the GIFs has never been my focus anyways, I always just wanted to put them all out there for free. I have paid my way with commercial art for a long time, so I saw just how much money can influence expression, and I wanted my halftone work to not have that influence. However I'm not against making money from it and I do make other things with my art that people can buy if they want to support me. Since my style is based on halftones, I have been able to turn some of my work into screenprints, as well as nicer engraved pieces, that you can find on my website https://billtavis.com
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Fabric Printing Workshop
Fabric printing was one of the workshops I was most looking forward to. I had previously thought about taking my designs to a new medium and always thought about how I could translate my designs onto both ceramics and fabric. I have wanted to learn this area of print for a while now, specifically to create t-shirts and tote bags. Annoyingly I haven't got the photos I took of this workshop due to getting a new phone.
We were first introduced to the studio, learning where everything is and how to coat a screen. The process of preparing the screen is the same as the screenprinting I'm used to, the only difference being that the screen has wider holes in the mesh to allow more ink to pass through.
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We were given a selection of fabrics to print on which was nice as we got to see how different fabrics and textures affected the print. With thicker more wooly fabrics, we were advised to pull the ink across the screen an extra time to allow the fabric to soak the ink in and get a full coverage.
We were taught to pin all the fabric down that we wanted to print on first. I'm not going to lie, I did have some trouble with this part, but after a while I got the hang of it. I didn't have the pins at the right angle when pinning down as they have to be almost horizontal with the table.
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When it came to printing there were several differences between printing on fabric and printing on paper. The first being that there was no frame to place the screen on, which meant that we had to place the screen down by hand. Lining up the screen was a little difficult as it was hard to see exactly where the stencil was laying on the fabric. I imagine with a multi colour print this could become challenging. However, only doing a single colour print, we just had to make sure the image was on the fabric. Secondly we had to pull the print with one hand as the other hand was used to secure the screen. This again took a little getting use to. The squeegee had a rounded rubber end rather than the angular corners when printing on paper making pulling the print a lot smoother. This did mean that we had to keep the squeegee vertical when pulling. The ink was pushed through the screen twice.
After we printed on the fabric we were then allowed to print on tshirts. My t-shirt was used as the example so I didn't get to pin it out myself but watched where to pin it out. It was kinda obvious when I thought about it, but I'm glad that we were shown first. The process was very much the same, I used one of my designs this time as I wanted to give the shirt as a gift. A piece of cardboard was placed inside the top to prevent bleeding through to the other side. After that I lined my screen up and pulled the ink through twice.
I was really happy with how the prints came out, and over all, the process was really enjoyable. I would love to come back and print some of my designs on t-shirts and tote bags.
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deadgiants · 7 years
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Making patches
I see a lot of people asking others how to make patches, and I see that most of the replies are usually to just use some acrylics and paint your own. This is a totally awesome method, and one that I have used myself, but I rarely see anyone talking about screenprinting as an option. I imagine that part of this is partly due to the material requirements making it seem cost prohibitive, and that it seems like a whole new art form to learn with a bunch of weird chemicals and processes. Because of this I’d just like to take a moment to let folk why screenprinting is both rad as fuck, super easy (if time consuming), and maybe a better fit for what you want.
I started making tshirts and patches in high school by drawing on rags with sharpie, but never really liked how that looked in the end, I was still broke as fuck though and wanted a cheaper alternative than buying from a shop. I also had moral issues with buying band merch not directly from the band, but that’s a different rant/conversation. Anyway, onward after the break!
First off, some reasons Screenprinting is great and why you should learn to do it.
It’s easy! No, really, if you’re just starting there are some great entry level methods to make great looking prints. 
It’s versatile! there are a lot of different ways to use a screen press and all of them turn out great products, stencils are the easiest (and cheapest), but block out fluid can also be used to “paint” your designs right onto the screen with limited material requirement. After that you get into emulsion printing which does require a bit more practice but can still be done in your garage (as proven by myself and innumerable others). From that point there’s also sorts of crazy inks, dyes, methods, and materials to play with, yay!
You don’t have to be able to draw! This one might sound cynical but I prefer to think of it as a bonus because it does make screenprinting more inclusive to everyone who jokes that they can only draw stick figures. If you can trace a line you can cut a stencil. All you need to do is make or find a stencil and you can make a patch, super simple!
It’s cheap, damnit! This is probably the biggest reason not a lot of people look to screenprinting as a viable option, but for the same cost (or just a bitt more) of a few brushes and tubes of acrylic that will flake and crack if they’re ever washed or placed in the wrong spot you can get a starter kit from a few different places that comes with; a screen the perfect size for patches, a few colors of ink ( usually red, yellow, blue, black and white), and a squeegee blade. Some even come with blocker and drawing fluid or a tiny bottle of emulsion! 
Almost an addendum to No.4, but while the process does take longer than just painting the design on and calling it good, once you have your stencil/screen you can make damn near infinite copies. When I started I used to make shirts and patches and just give em all out to my friends.
With all that said...
Some reasons screenprinting might not be for you.
If you really only intend to make one or two designs and don’t think you’ll be doing even that often, then it certainly might not be worth it to go through everything it takes to learn a whole new discipline.
Time. Like I said above, once you have the screen or stencil ready, making patches is incredibly fast, I can make upwards of 40 prints an hour, if I’m making patches, each print can mean between 4 and 10 individual patches, shit’s crazy, but getting to that last step can take forever, with stencils it’s because that shit takes time, but you can fix a stencil if your hand slips. With some other methods it’s hours of setup and if you fuck up at all it means starting all over, sometimes with little idea of what specifically went wrong.
Mess. This comes down to a person by person thing, and it’s totally possible to do printing with little to no mess, but it takes some trial and error to figure it out.
Personal preference. Different people like different aesthetics, crazy right? I prefer screenprinting because I’m hyper critical and would hate to wear something I knew I goofed up on, even if I know no one else can tell. Other people don’t mind the little mistakes, other people look at them as a feature of the method, making each unique.
These are all completely valid reasons to prefer other methods of DIY patch making. I went the way I did just because I wanted things to look as good as possible while controlling the design of each, as often as I printed a bunch of an image, I smade an equal number of designs that I only printed once, just because I wanted it and wanted it to look good to me. So whatever your choice, preference, or skill level, please, everyone continue to create whatever it is you love.
ADDENDUM NUMBER THE FIRST
Some random resources and links!
Stencil Punks was a super rad site full of super rad stencils for a long time, but the site is down now and this tumblr is all I can find of it. It looks like there’s a good chunk of the original library missing, but still a good place to find stencils.
Ryonet is the main place to get supplies beyond the basics, but more importantly the make videos explaining how to use everything they sell.
Catspit Productions is another great tutorial page.
This is an ok beginner setup, it’s close to what I had to start.
This seems like another ok starter kit, but it comes with a pre-burned screen, which is...weird. But usually Screenprint.com/Ryonet stuff is better general quality than Speedbal like the first kit linked.
Also worth noting, you might be able to find screens cheap or free if you just ask/scavenge if you’re near a university/print lab. People buy really nice screens all the time for classes or as part of an artist residency program and then just leave that shit behind. Which means it’s free game if you can get to it, fuck em.
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FRIDAY FEATURE: VELOARTIST ELIZA SOUTHWOOD
Kitty: First of all, have you always wanted to be an illustrator? Tell me how your career has progressed.
Eliza: Yes, secretly! I always loved painting and drawing. I was constantly drawing all through my childhood and as an adult – I’ve never stopped. But I thought I should study a more practical subject than fine art so I trained as an architect instead.
Kitty: Is there a particular artist that inspired you when you were starting out? Anyone who particularly inspires you now?
Eliza: Anything can inspire me. For figurative inspiration I love the work of the old masters of line drawing such as Toulouse-Lautrec or Goya, and in terms of colour and line, modern artists such as Adrian Berg, David Hockney, Ben Nicholson, Calum Innes, Idris Khan and Bronwen Sleigh. In terms of bike art, my fellow cycling artists are always an inspiration. The Artcrank bunch always produce a treasure trove of cycling prints and I love the work of Neil Stevens, Rebecca Kaye and Anthony Oram. They have different styles from mine but that makes their work all the more interesting.
Kitty: Have you always been interested in cycling?
Eliza: Yes, ever since I bought my first bike when I was 18. It was a Specialized Rockhopper mountain bike but I’m afraid to say I went for colour and only chose it because it was red. At the time I lived in a remote mountainous area of Northern Spain and it was handy for going off into the hills and finding a nice village bar to while away the afternoon.
Kitty: When did you do your first cycling illustration?
Eliza: I didn’t start drawing bikes until about three years ago. I’d found some old images of the American cyclist Major Taylor and wanted to do something with them in a graphic style. That led to more research into classic Tour de France riders and I was hooked. I can’t explain why I like old images of cycling so much. It’s instinctive. I see everything through a kind of filter in terms of colour and line and wonder how it would look as an artwork. I do branch out into contemporary cycling sometimes. I go through phases – I’ve drawn urban scenes, horses, insects and portraits of people. But the cycling phase is pretty much ongoing.
Kitty: Do you have a favourite cyclist?
Eliza: Yes, I love Eddy Merckx. I have an Eddy Merckx classic 80s bike so maybe that’s partly to do with it. Also in his heyday he wasn’t very ugly 😉
Kitty: I know! Merckx was like the cycling Elvis in his heyday! How about your favourite race?
Eliza: I really enjoy watching the Vuelta de Espana, probably because it reminds me of the time when I grew up there. I know Spain pretty well, having travelled all over the country. So it’s always nice to watch the Vuelta. I’m also enjoying this year’s Tour de France – very exciting.
Kitty: How do you get inspiration for your illustrations?
Eliza: If I see something inspiring, I can’t tear my eyes away! I find it’s always useful to go out and see exhibitions, even if they’re not my kind of thing. In some ways I’m lucky to live in London where there’s a lot going on. But anything can trigger an idea. I never get tired of looking at stuff. Even a walk down the road can spark an idea.
Kitty: A lot of your work is screen print – take us through the process.
Eliza: It’s fairly technical. I really like screen printing – there’s something about the unsubtlety of the colour layers and the boldness of the outlines. The method I use involves a fine mesh stretched over a frame, which is coated with photosensitive emulsion. Then you lay your negative or stencil underneath and expose the screen to UV light in a special machine. The coating washes away with water where the stencil has been, leaving an imprint on the screen. Then you push ink through with a squeegee. You do this process for each colour on your print, so it makes sense to keep the colours simple and to a minimum. Although I did do a nine-colour print for Sustrans. And Brompton are getting a ten-colour print (although I can’t claim the credit for that as I had an assistant to do that one).
Kitty: What about the digital prints?
Eliza: They all start with a hand drawing in pencil, charcoal or ink pen, which I scan into my computer. I then render the colours with Photoshop or Illustrator. The nice thing about digital designs is the versatility – I like adding textures and layers so the build up can be quite varied.
But I find that my screen prints are more popular, possibly because the whole process is a hand-made one, and I think it makes a difference that the prints are limited – you can never replicate an edition exactly. I sometimes re-edition my hand screen prints in different colourways, but no print run is the same. Whereas digital prints are only limited if you ‘say so’ – there’s nothing to stop you printing them endlessly.
I usually get my digital prints done professionally by a fine art printer – the inks are very high quality, as is the paper. It makes a difference as anyone can churn out a load of prints on a printer at home.
Kitty: You’ve worked with a lot of great publications and great institutions like the V&A. Did you originally go in with your portfolio and pitch your work or did they come to you?
Eliza: I was asked to design a print exclusive to the V&A after someone in their buying department spotted one of my prints on display in Look Mum No Hands! on Old Street in London. The first edition sold out so now they are selling the same print in a different colourway. I produced a run of 100 prints. It was a fantastic opportunity for me. I’m now working with them on a Christmas card design. I’ve been lucky in that my publicity has kind of self-generated so I haven’t had to pitch for work so far. In some ways, it would be good to have a bit of breathing space so I can develop new ideas! I’ve also done work for Orbital Festival, Sustrans, Bikeparka, Cycle to Cannes, Brompton, Boneshaker Magazine and Cycling Active magazine, and a painting for Chris Boardman – great clients to have.
Kitty: Tell us about some of your other work – your figurative and abstract projects. (I love the screen print of the Barbican, by the way!)
Eliza: Thanks! I love doing abstract paintings – stripping everything down to the barest essence. I don’t have much time for them now but I will definitely keep painting when I have a spare moment. I recently sold a large abstract piece at the Affordable Art Fair with Gas Gallery. It’s very different from my figurative work but I love experimenting and trying out new techniques and styles. I also love drawing buildings – a hangover from the architect days, definitely. I can’t see myself going back into architecture though – I enjoy what I do now far more.
Kitty: You have an exhibition at the Society Café, Bath – how did that come about?
Eliza: Yes, Adrian the owner of Society has exhibited my prints before. They sold well and the show was a success, so he asked if I’d be willing to do something related to the Tour de France this summer. He’s a nice guy and Society is a lovely little café so I was quite happy to do that. It’s going to be up until the end of August, and the café opens between 7:30 am and 6:30 pm.
I also have some prints on display at the new branch of Look Mum No Hands on Mare Street. I’ve just finished painting a mural for them, too. It’s nine metres long and features a peloton. It leads you into the beer garden patio area.
Kitty: I always ask photographers/illustrators I interview to pick out five of their favourite pieces – what are yours?
Eliza: It’s very easy to get bored of my own work. I just want to keep producing more interesting and new things all the time. I like my Peloton print, it’s a recent screen print based on a painting I did a couple of years ago. Also, I like my Two Tunnels print for Sustrans. I have to nominate my yellow Major Taylor print, it’s one of the first cycling images I ever did. Although I can’t stand the sight of it now I have to nominate Tactics. It was my first screen print and I’ve sold so many of them all over the world. I’ve no idea why it’s so popular. And for a non-cycling print, I’ll choose the Barbican print. Looking forward to doing a few more like that one.
Kitty: What’s coming up in the rest of the year for you? Any more exhibitions, big new projects?
Eliza: I’ve got Artcrank coming up at the end of August which should be exciting. I also have some screenprints to produce for the Orbital Festival and a couple of private commissions to do. There’s the possibility of a collaboration with photographer Balint Hamvas this autumn on the subject of cyclocross. Then I want to do some big abstract pieces for Gas Gallery when I’ve got everything else out of the way. So a busy summer ahead!
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whoistayla · 5 years
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ART FAIR Q&A
 The galleries we visited the previous day (Thursday) before the art fair were Blank, Goodman and Stevenson. When I found those galleries booths at the art fair I did my utmost best to reflect on what I saw the day before & compare it to the galleries booths at the art fair. Blank Gallery had less sculpture work and more 2D visual art like paintings & collage or mixed media. They filled their space more than the actual gallery did and they also managed to use their space wisely & with consideration as to how the works flow into one another. The Stevenson space looked very much like the actual gallery does. Everything was spaced out & curated almost according to the way they do it in the real space. I felt like one could see it was the Stevenson booth as soon as they walked in & didn’t even have to read the booth name because it gave off the same professional yet fresh approach that the Stevenson space in Woodstock gives off. Goodman gallery was very different to the original space. In facet I thought that the Goodman booth had more space than that of the space in which you walk through when first entering the real gallery. It was very well put together and curated in a way that was not particular to Goodmans’ usual way of curating. 
Throughout the day the artworks I absolutely loved were from SMITH & Kalashnikov gallery and Bad Paper, being; “Wet Nurse” by Michaela Younge (SMITH) as her work has always fascinated me with the use of veldt & sewing – her very uncanny characters & scenes always grasp me into another world or narrative. From Kalashnikov gallery I just fell in love with the 3 Louie De Villiers (formerly known as Skullboy) works that were up, I struggled to find the title of the work but it was a triptych of figures in black, white and gold leaf. I love Louies’ way of using mixed mediums like paint, chalk, gold leaf and ink. His subject matter is very dark & he comments on pop culture topics as well as takes inspiration from the roads less travelled. The work I loved at Bad Paper was by the screenprint titled, “The Worlds Greatest” by Cameron Platter.  The bright green was so attracting and immediately caught my attention from across the corridor-like area opposite the bad paper stand, I also spoke to Ben at the stand who told me that it each screen print came out slightly different due to parts being out of line, which made me like the piece even more because each one was still different to the next even though the visual artwork was the same. The first work that I absolutely hated was “Dirty Mirror” by Pascale Marthine Tayou, I found the work to just be very boring, although I could see the work was an attempt to be playful I found it unsuccessful and just something that shouldn’t be at an art fair (in my personal opinion). I also disliked “Blue Water Boatman” by LR Vandy, I found it to look very ornamental and almost like a modern day shield but also looking like an iron – 2/10 wouldn’t recommend. And lastly, I could not find the title but the work at the Stevenson stand by Serge Alain Nitegeka was definitely something that was very overpowering for me and made me feel very frustrated and bored because of how flat the painting seemed to me.
3. Predominant mediums and processes I found at the fair this year were photography, as there was a very large area taken up by photographic booths (i.e: Billy Monk) in the fair this year. There was also a lot more collage based work and mixed mediums like markers/paint pens and screenprints.
4. Some booths had their walls painted different colours such as yellow or grey, and some spaces had gallerist desks whilst others had none. And some booths were simple squares but others were rather awkwardly shaped.
5. Obvious differences are how some booths are labelled either very clearly or not at all. Some booths were very risky (in my opinion) and wrote labels of artworks on pen & paper and laid it on the floor in front of the artworks which I found to be rather frustrating and un-clear as to why it was curated that way.
6. The layout was a lot more spacious this year and allowed for easier & more comfortable movement. Its perhaps layed out this way due to the group tours that were happening, which I do not remember seeing last year & I found that altogether there were a lot of improvements at the 2019 CTIAF in comparison to what I saw last year. The lighting wasn’t very harsh either.
7. As above mentioned, the lighting wasn’t very harsh this year and each booth had their own lighting where necessary (i.e: Bad paper stand & Sitaara Stodels stand). There would be individual lights for certain artworks shining above the work to highlight it or bring it out more. The only artwork I thought lighting could have been placed differently with was the light above the Marine Ambramovic’s work. The light was reflecting directly off the area of the face and so one struggled to see the artwork properly from most angles. 
8. People at the booths are mostly dressed in black and have very professional aspects about the way they look, wearing things like blazers and smart chino pants. The young people (i.e our third years for example) all wore black only and looked the part for whatever task they were handed. Viewers are the ones that seem to amaze me, as many people come to the art fair dressed in their most ‘outgoing’ kind of clothes as I would imagine it may be because they feel safe to try it out at the art fair considering it’s a creative & exciting space to be in.
9. There are ‘markets’ for your regular person where one can purchase books, merchandise and small prints of artworks for a small price. There is then the bigger market for buyers which you will find gets an entire separate event before the show officially opens to the public, which is crazy for me to think about. This separate opening via invites-only is for collectors and potential buyers to view the work with champagne or wine in hand and choose what they’d like to own. This ‘higher’ market can purchase artworks and expensive prints that are very much out of the regular persons price range. They can also make connections with other buyers and collectors.
10. A work that I thought exemplified the spectacle of wealth was Athi-Patra Ruga’s bust sculpture that I have previously seen at What If The World gallery in town. Its incredibly glamourous and really seems to make you say “wow” as it is jewel encrusted (not sure if fake or real jewels but nonetheless), and uses a colour scheme of golds and reds – making for an impactful and memorable piece. It seems like something a very wealthy person would want made for themselves to place in their gigantic, marble floored foyer.
11. I mentioned it previously but will mention it again, I thought “Dirty Mirror” did not fit with the rest of the fair and it just stuck out to me as something that seemed to annoy me just because of its mere presence amongst such other conceptually and technically great artwork.
12. I found it much easier to ask about prices this year as I felt more confident about my own knowledge on some galleries and their artists so I knew how to approach it better this time around and each gallerist I approached seemed to have no problem telling me the prices of work even though I was clearly a student who can’t afford it.
13. Investec were the lead sponsor and also Fiera Milano Exhibitions Africa, of the Fiera Group. Fiera were there on behalf of international artists to handle international exchanges and services between all sponsors. Boschendal champagne were also very evident sponsors as their branding was largely all over the place, and their brand of champagne was served. Artsy was also another sponsor of the event as well as Art Africa, The Lake, Art Times, Arthrob and Flash Art.
14. It takes place at the CTICC due to the available space, professionalism in appearance and the lack of limitations within the space when it comes to size and transporting of artwork around the space.
15. Irma Stern pieces were the oldest I could find.
16. Young artists that were exhibited were Chris Soal, recent 2018 Michaelis graduate Takua Ramkilawan and Michaelis graduates from a year or two before such as Sitaara Stodel, Gitte Moller and Michaela Younge.
17. Solo booths seem to be themed, have painted walls to coincide with the artwork and simply look more ‘put together’ as all the work is cohesive. Group booths are trickier to curate and could easily look like it was carelessly thrown together so a lot more consideration should be taken with group show booths.
18. Marina Ambramovic’s work had a lot of talk surrounding it, I think this was because she is such a notorious artist and there is so much information surrounding her and her body of work. And I feel like very few south Africans ever thought they would see a Marina original piece with their own pair of eyes.
19. Artwork surrounded a lot of subjects regarding identity, personal experiences and shared/relatable experiences. I think this may be because we are living in a day and age where identity is becoming more and more complex and experimentative which in turn makes it difficult for some to navigate through, hence why they make art about it.
20. I would love to be represented by Kalashnikov gallery, I just love MJ Turpins style of curation and the risks he is willing to take by putting certain types of work up. Turpin has fresh ideas that really resonate with me and I would be honoured if I ever got to show work in his gallery.
21. I would love to work at Bad Paper with Ben. I love his approach to artists and collaboration, and how he brings some of the wildest ideas into play. Ben is an interesting person for starters and I can totally see how Bad Paper is like the rebellious child of the art world. I would love to be a part of his team some day.
22. A question for me would be, is it best to take an organized tour of the art fair or go on your own?
23. If I had to hypothetically have my own art gallery/institute I would love to show something, but I would try and make it interactive where I can use different coloured lighting to go with the works. Make it so the lighting acts as a part of the artwork instead of it being something to highlight it around the artwork.
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teganbryce-blog · 5 years
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I Want to be a Machine
On the 15th of November I attended a preview of the exhibition “I Want to be a Machine” which centred around Warhol and Paolozzi at the National Gallery. I really enjoyed this exhibition. It was named after something Andy Warhol said in 1963: “I want to be a machine” referring to the machine like efficiency and quality of the screenprinting process. It spanned a floor of the gallery and included 4 rooms. Warhol and Paolozzi were both major figures in the Pop Art Movement of the 60s. There lives and works shared many similarities: they were both the sons of immigrant parents and both of them were engrossed by popular culture of their childhoods and growing up. They saw the future from the developing mechanisation. 
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The exhibition followed the two mens work as it developed over time. The displays began in the late 40s and 50s into the 60s were both artists were introduced to screen printing. For Warhol it greatly emphasised the photographic elements within his work but also allowed him to experiment and pursue his love of colour. For Paolazzi screen printing allowed him to become more experimental with his collage technique as he could move images and alter colours more freely.
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These are two of my favourite sketches by Warhol from the exhibit. The first is entitled “Musical Notes and Sprite Faces”. I was drawn to this as its simple colour palette was just cute and pleasant to the eye. This piece had a similar light-heartedness as the works he made for Cano, which was a students magazine at the Carnegie Institute of technology situated in Pittsburgh. Warhol majored her in design. The musical notes in the piece were probably created using a rubber stump or some form of stencil. You can see influence from Paul Klee in this piece. Its mixture of repetitive semi-geometric shapes and the use of humour was similar to his work. 
The second image is entitled “The Nations Nightmare”. In the summer of 1951 CBS held a six part radio documentary programme called “The Nations Nightmare”. In this series the police’s fight against crime was represented. Due to the success and impact the first series made they decided to release a record of it. A competition was launched to find someone to advertise, launch the record and design a cover. Warhol won this competition. This drawing was one of his preliminary designs which showed a heroin addict injecting himself. To create this sketch Warhol organised a photo shoot, enacting the scene. He then used the photograph created to trace the figure of the drug user using a sheet of translucent acetate paper in order to see the photo underneath. I was drawn to this image for its brutal nature. It depicts a true part of life which is often ignored. 
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This was what I first saw when entering the second Warhol room. This is by far one of his most famous pieces. In 1967 Warhol created a print-publishing business. Through this he published a series of screen print folios on his signature subjects, one of which was Marilyn Monroe. Each image was printed from five screens, one of which was a photograph and four for different areas of colour some of which were printed off-register. Warhol stated about the repeated image “the more you look at the same exact thing, the more the meaning goes away, and the better and emptier you feel”. The bright colours and the repetitive image is captivating and takes viewers attention right from the beginning. 
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In 1980 there was a book published about ‘the Beatles’. The artwork shown above of the group was done by Warhol for the front cover. This piece was based on a photograph by the photographer Dezo Hoffman. Warhol created almost a collage effect by screen printing irregular blocks of colour. the figures and hand drawn lines have also been screen printed. This style of work was very identifiable as Warhol, with its vibrant colours and use of screen printing. This style creates almost a psychedelic appearance which ties in with album covers the band have previously had in the 60s. 
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This was also in the exhibition room and showed a very different style of Warhols work. It was a series of black and white images hanging on the walls, and at the far end were his stitched photographs (which I didn’t get a photo off). These photos were captivating. They were all laid out in a long continuous line along the wall like above and each was just a simple black and white picture. I liked seeing a different side of Warhols style, something away from the colourful screen prints he's so famous for. My favourite was one of the stitched images of Jean-Michel Basquiat. He is an artist I already admired so it was interesting seeing him in another artists collection. He has such iconic style and hair, it was instantly recognisable to be him which I thought was successful. I liked the composition of the stitched pieces, how the four images are laid out almost like a grid. Warhol and Basquiat were very close friends, which caused some controversy as some people loved and were fixated by the friendship where as others believed Basquait was exploiting Warhols fame. It was a strong but unlikely friendship. On the table in the image above were books of polaroids and framed images or Warhol in various outfits. It showed his eccentric side and how he was a strange yet brilliant man. 
Next we went along the corridor to the Paolozzi part of the exhibit. This mirrored the part previous, with a room of earlier works and then a room with his screen prints. 
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This is two examples of Paolazzi’s early work. The top image is entitled “head” and is a simple pen and ink on paper drawing. I loved the abstract, undone style. It looks chaotic and gives a sense of uneasiness. These drawings were a huge contrast to his collages which showed images of happy people and represented the time. The drawing underneath is called “man smoking” and was created in 1954 using gouache and ink on paper. the depiction of a man smoking was common for Paolozzi’s work at this time. These works may have been seen as self portraits. The piece was done on the back of an illustrated page for a romantic story. 
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This is a screen print by Poalazzi which was done as part of a series for an exhibition. What caught my attention was the bright colours and repetitive patterns. It is very evident how much his style changed since screen printing was introduced. You can see how he now enjoys playing with colour, shape and pattern to create a dynamic piece. It shows his developing pop art style whist style showing his roots with surrealism. 
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I found this table very interesting and pleasing to look at. I love the combination of bright colours the table encompass the style of the pieces on walls. I like the neon acrylic box around some posters as it adds a different effect to the piece.
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The tv in the corner of the room was playing the film Poalazzi made in 1965. It was an abstract movie based on images from his print series. It showed developments in technology over time and his prints often demonstrated to new computer age swell as his worry for the international arms race and the development of the Vietnam War. It shows a contrast in the ways humanity uses the developments of technology: one for progression and the other for destruction.
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swipestream · 6 years
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Q&A with David the Good
I ran into David the Good in the CH break room and took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about Turned Earth. 
  Scott Cole: I noticed that turnips are Jack Broccoli’s favorite vegetable. I was looking through our last conversation and your Youtube page but they don’t feature. Why does Jack like turnips so much?
David The Good: I didn’t want Jack to be a Mary Sue character. Sure, he’s an obsessive gardener who is attractive to women, fit, good-looking, and above average in his intelligence, just like me – but he differs in one very important regard. Turnips. If he were a Mary Sue, he would prefer growing pumpkins rather than turnips.
Also, without those turnips in his garden, Jack would not have the help of the mysterious Brown Wizard who seems to live in his head. Growing an ancient Finnish heirloom variety has made Jack “The Caretaker,” and attracted the help of this strange and ancient creature – but I can’t give away too much for now.
  SC: So pumpkins are your favorite vegetables to grow?
DtG: Yeah. I love pumpkins because they seem almost dangerous in their growth. There’s this terrifying anarchy to them. The vines can easily fill a yard and threaten to overgrow your home – and then they produce pumpkins, and boom – they die back. Just at the point where you think they’re going to eat your entire neighborhood, they give up. I like the feeling of losing control. It’s not like carrots, which are boring and just stay put. Or onions. Or, dare I say, turnips. No, you plant pumpkins and they might end up with a hundred feet of vines. That’s exciting.
  SC: What’s with Ocean Octaves!?
DtG: Even good people like Jack have character flaws.
  SC: I liked the art in the book.
DtG: Thank you. The art work in the interior is by my longtime friend Eric Towers. My thought was to have some Hardy Boys style illustrations but instead of highlighting adventure we would highlight the most ridiculous scenes. Eric’s pen and ink is really tight and has a classic clean look to it. I’m thrilled with how they turned out. The cover of the book, on the other hand, is by Jeremiah Humphries. He actually gave me the idea for the book. I was asking some friends “what gardening book should I write next?” and Jeremiah said “Turned Earth: A Jack Broccoli Novel.” He said, “you write that book, I’ll make the cover!” So he actually came up with the title. I laughed at the idea of writing a crazy gardening spy fiction story after writing multiple gardening nonfiction titles, but the idea was so crazy it had to be done. Jeremiah was amazed I actually did it – and he followed through with a cover. I laughed out loud when he sent it to me. It was perfect.
  SC: There is a scene where Jack wants to dispose of a body but he is berated for not composting it. Some dark humor ensues where they joke about creating “Compost your Enemies” t-shirts…
DtG: That started with Compost Everything. Vox thought it would be funny to add to the release notes that the book was a good guide for people wishing to dispose of a body. I started referencing that on my Youtube channel and it became a running joke. Someone said “if you put that on a t-shirt, I’ll buy it. Then Weatherly from Aardvark Screenprinting said, “hey, I’ll make that shirt!” and printed them for me. People started buying the shirt and sending me photos of them wearing it. One guy wore his to the Mother Earth News Fair. Another couple sent me a picture from the zoo, where they had matching shirts. One reader even attended a talk by well-known permaculture teacher Justin Rhodes and got his picture with Justin while wearing the shirt. It’s kind of become a thing now – so Jack’s joke ties into that.
  SC: I don’t want to get gruesome but have to ask. Let’s say if one needs to bury a dead animal, are dead animals good compost?
DtG: Sure. People like to say “you can’t compost meat!!!” but I have grown trees, fruits and vegetables over buried rats, roosters and other unfortunate animals. I even planted a chestnut tree over a placenta. The key is to bury the meat deep enough to prevent scavengers from digging it up. Basically, protein breaks down into nitrogen which is good for the soil. The Indians taught the Pilgrims to bury fish under their corn, right? Same idea.
  SC: What are you working on now?
DtG: The next Jack Broccoli novel is in production. I’m about one eighth through the draft but I don’t have an estimated completion date. I do have three other gardening books planned, including a guide to plant propagation and a re-write of my popular Florida gardening book. Also, Tactical Gardening is not a joke and I hope to finish that up soon….
  SC: Word?
DtG: Word up.
  SC: Will you have death hedges in there?
DtG: Yep, and lots of poisonous plants that one could theoretically use to compost their enemies, though the Castalia House Legal Department may give me some push back. Anyway, readers can expect Tactical Gardening eventually. The beekeeping book I mentioned in our last interview is on hold for now. My buddy who is providing a lot of the content lost most his hives to neighborhood mosquito fumigation. Lots of bees are killed by pesticides and he was pretty knocked about by the loss. He has a lot of work to do now but progress will be slow – I’m not sure when or if the book will come out.
  SC: Besides city and town fumigation programs I see a lot of advertising for lawn companies to spray for mosquitoes. I remember our last discussion covered the benefits and drawbacks of many insects and bugs in the environment. Besides removing objects that allow for standing water are there gardening techniques or certain plans that helps mitigate against mosquitoes without spraying chemicals?
DtG: Sure. Read Jack Broccoli out loud to them. Gardening thrillers are absolutely terrifying to mosquitoes. Smoking cigars also seems to keep the little suckers at bay.
  SC:  Thank you David.  Another great conversation.
  If you enjoyed the interview make sure you check out David’s series of Opening Up New Land.  David and his wife have committed themselves to working an overgrown plot of scrub, at least an hour a day for the next two months.  In the first installment’s description there is a link to sign up for a newsletter and free booklet on extending your compost.
Q&A with David the Good published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames
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jeremystrele · 6 years
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Need/Want · Our February Wishlist
Need/Want · Our February Wishlist
Need/Want
by Lucy Feagins, Editor
1. Chimbarongo Set by PET Lamp (Chile)
Elle Murrell, Managing Editor/Saving-for-a-Home-er:
Spanish designer, Alvaro Catalán de Ocón’s ambitious PET Lamp project came first came on my radar when he was collaborating with a friend I’d met in Kyoto. Alvaro’s astutely-researched initiative mixes the reuse of PET plastic bottles with selected traditional weaving techniques from different corners of the globe, in order to create unique handmade lampshades.
We recently wrote about his project with Indigenous Weavers in Arnhem Land, and witnessing these unique pieces at NGV Triennial had me coveting the shades all over again! While this Medusa-esque set looks pretty spectacular, I’m also a huge fan of the maybe-more-likely-in-the-next-five-years ‘Chimbarongo Triple’ design.
USD$1,850 – $4,395
   2. Screenprinting 101 Workshop at Home-Work
Ashley Simonetto, Graphic Designer/Baby of the TDF Family:
Textile designers Jess Wright and Lara Davies certainly workshop some magic at their Home-Work HQ in Brunswick, Melbourne.
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at screen printing, and their 101 seems like just the place to start. It’s promising ‘all the basics to get printing your original designs onto fabric!’ and covers learning about colours, inks, fabrics and all the techniques you’ll need to stencil cut and print your own designs.
Now that I’m two years out of Uni, this sounds like actually appealing homework!!
AUD$195
3. Hand Built Tea Pot by Katia Carletti
Alice Johnson, TDF Partnerships Manager/Blossoming Potter:
I came across Adelaide-based Ceramic artist Katia Carletti’s work a few years ago through her Instagram account (featuring her most beloved bunny Tilvie!). These teapots look so beautiful, I love their simple form. They make me want to cosy up inside and pour myself a warming cup of tea!
Having Katia’s pieces at The Design Files Open House last year had me fawning over her work all the more!
AUD$220
  4. ‘Temple of the Sun’ by Heath Newman
Sally Tabart, Editorial Assistant/ Share-House Aficionado:
I like to think that I might have discovered Melbourne-based artist Heath Newman’s work on my own, although that’s probably not the case.
What’s far more likely is that I saw him on someone else’s social media and his name imprinted on my brain. I promptly forgot the origin post, and now upon remembering the artist, it feels like it was me who uncovered his work all along. Wow, go me!
Do I need this, or anything, really? No. But do I want it? Hell yeah.
From AUD$2,900
5. Basket Case Bracelet by Lucy Folk
Annie Portelli, Art Director/Part-Time Hand Model:
Recently I was on the set of TDF’s latest video series, ‘The Perfect Tipple’, and we were lucky enough to loan some Lucy Folk jewellery to spice up our videos!
After being around this piece for the three days of shooting, it was really, really tough to part with it. One day…?
Along with beautiful new jewellery lines and a fashion collection out now, Lucy Folk’s pop-up Christmas Salon has had its life extended – you can now drop into the Melbourne brand’s jaw-droppingly beautiful new HQ in Windsor anytime!
AUD$450
  6. Togo Settee by Ligne Rose at DOMO
Lucy Feagins, TDF Boss Lady/Decade-Long-Office-Sofa-Hunter
The Design Files is 10 (TEN!) years old now and we *still* don’t have a sofa in our office!  Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing.
As mentioned in my new year’s resolutions, 2018 is the year of ‘sorting out the office’, and top of my list is a new couch!  I have been coveting the Ligne Roset Togo Settee since forever… this design, by Michel Ducaroy, is a true classic.
The Togo’s bold silhouette and retro vibe make it the perfect, versatile piece for our colourful, relaxed workplace. And though it comes in countless variations, we have limited space, so I have my heart set on the arm-less, settee version, for ultimate flexibility.
Available at DOMO, from USD$4,000
  Editor’s note: the selection of items above are based on the personal, independent preferences of the TDF Team; this is not a sponsored post.
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darkartandcraft · 7 years
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An Interview with Dylan Garrett Smith
Dark Art & Craft had a chance to ask the artist and printmaker Dylan Garrett Smith a few questions about his life and artwork. Dylan creates his works with a wide array of mediums informed by ecology, occultism and darker themed subjects. Find our conversation within;
For those that don’t know your work, can we have a brief intro and what type of art you produce?
My name is Dylan Garrett Smith and I'm an artist and printmaker.  I create images inspired and informed by ecology, occultism, and humanity's relationship with - and the continually growing distance from - the natural world, using ashes, chalk-lead, and ink on black cotton-rag paper.  I also create screenprints, murals, paintings, fragrances, designs for shirts and album art for bands and brands with darker aesthetics, as well as having two bands - KVØID (experimental metal with my friend, David S. Fylstra) and Low Spirits (depressive surf-punk).
What art or style are you currently working in?
Regardless of the medium, I've always had a more tight, illustrative style, but over the last few years I've been focusing on light, texture, composition, and narrative.  I think my style and the artist's hand is always present, but to me, focusing on these aspects of art have been important to me.  Being that working on black paper using lighter media (rather than darker media on white paper) makes more sense to by brain, I think that's also another way that my style stands apart from a lot other people creating work with similar ideas or themes.
Do you have any favorite clients who you’ve produced work for? We noticed recent work from Mastodon and Baroness..
Working on designs for Mastodon, Baroness, and APMD was an absolute blast.  Those three bands always got heavy rotation in my studio, so it was exciting to work with them.  I just love working on different projects, so whether I'm hearing a band for the first time after they contact me or if it's one of my favorite bands like Mastodon, Baroness, and APMD, I'm looking forward to getting to work.  Ultimately, I love any client that contacts me and says "we love what you do- check out our album and go wild".  That's how I have the most fun and that's how you get my best work.
Your work at times relates to the music community, what musicians do you draw inspiration from if any?
Aside from the bands I just mentioned, I'm constantly listening to Woods of Desolation, Addaura, Rudimentary Peni and Neurosis.  All of them have different, unique sounds, but the similar thread amongst them that I love is how they create atmosphere, mood, and emotion.  I get lost in the images they put in my head and how it makes me feel.
Many of your works include occult or dark themes, do you consider these central to your work?
Absolutely.  My study of and interest in occultism is also tied to my interest in ecology and they both inform each other.  To me, their connection (and my connection to them) is very personal and important to my creative process and the images I make.  It's much more and deeper than the use of someone else's sigils to make something look "dark" or "evil", which I purposefully stay away from.  I'm more interested in creating a narrative based off of a concept and allowing the viewer to put the story together for themselves.
What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have?
Rituals and routines are very important to me creatively.  Meditation helps me shift into the mindset I need to be in to work and dreams have always been important to my creative process.  I've created pieces in dreams from ideation to completion, which then informed the images and techniques I've used.  Scent also plays a critical role in my studio practice.  There are certain incense I only burn in my studio so it's easier for me to shift into a creative mindset.  Associating scent with my work practice and mediation has been helpful and if you have issues calming your mind enough to create, I suggest giving it a try.
What tools and process do you use to create?
For visual art and design, I always sketch ideas first, sometimes multiple times, to finalize composition, work out issues, edit, etc.  From there, I transfer the sketch to my black paper.  I primarily use ashes, chalk-lead, and ink on black cotton-rag paper.  I use ashes and a cotton chamois that I made from an old shirt to tone areas where I want a more medium grey and I use white chalk-lead and black ink to push and pull light and shadow, build texture, and add detail.  Once the piece is finished, I scan or photograph it (depending on how large it is) and prepare the files digitally for whatever application they'll be used for.
What is the climate of the art community in Lehigh Valley or Pennsylvania in general? Has being located here helped or hindered your output?
My fingers are very far from the pulse of the art community in the Lehigh Valley and have only shown there two or three times in the seven years I've lived here, but I'm often associated with the artist scene in Philadelphia since I show my work with a lot of my friends from there (and it's only an hour from where I currently live).  Philly's artist scene is absolutely fantastic and dark art is thriving there.  But for me, personally, I prefer living outside of cities, and visiting for exhibitions, shows, to see friends, etc.  Being closer to nature is important to my creative process and living in Brooklyn and Philly wasn't helpful to my creative output or my overall mental health.  Being able to spend time in the woods whenever I want or need to is a never-ending source of inspiration.
Is your work inspired by your locale?
Absolutely.  I try to spend as much time in nature as I can, my experiences are always informing my art, but even when I lived in cities where this wasn't always an option, I was pulling from past experiences and my study of occultism and the natural world.  I also tend to illustrate plants and animals that are native to Pennsylvania or the northeast since that's where I grew up and still live.
What role do you feel the artist has in society?
Over the years, I've thought about this a lot and I believe, ultimately, the role the artist plays in society - or the role the artist should play in society - is to make the audience think about something they haven't thought about before.  This doesn't necessarily have to be a political or sociological message; it can provoke an emotional response or force the audience to think about a narrative they haven't ever considered before, but they're thinking about it and it's new to them.  And this is very different from my feelings on the role designers play in society.
Do you consider darker themed art cathartic or a tool for challenging the viewer? Or something else completely?
I think darker art can be both cathartic and challenging for the artist and the audience.  A lot of people have natural curiosities about the darker aspects of life (and death), which can make darker art not only comforting for them, but also challenge their own ideas or beliefs about the unknown - and I feel this applies to both the artist and the audience.  Through the artist's exploration of ideas, the audience is also able to go on that journey and ask themselves those questions.
What are you doing when you’re not creating or working on art? What (other) interests do you have?
Aside from creating visual art, I love spending time in the natural world, watching films, finding new music, reading books on occultism, ecology, and anarchism, as well as weird and horror fiction.  I also enjoy writing for a few projects I'm working on with friends and creating fragrances.  It began as a hobby that I wanted to learn after I started having issues with my eyes as a result of myasthenia gravis and now I'm planning on releasing a number of fragrances for Autumn and Winter of this year.
Do you admire any artists / photographers? (dark themed or not) what work inspires you? Who should we be checking out?
I have so many favorite artists - I'm always finding new, creative people that are doing such incredible things.  My partner, Crystal Lee Lucas, is a fantastic photographer and I'm always in love with the images she creates.  Paul Romano, Jeremy Hush, Jeanne D'Angelo, Michael Bukowski, John Dyer Baizley, Seldon Hunt, Justin Bartlett, Jamie Winn, Bonethrower, Skinner, Florian Bertmer, Randy Ortiz, and Stephen Kasner, are some of my favorite artists, many of which I've developed friendships with over the years through art and exhibitions.
Thank you for your time, where else can we find you?
The two best places to find me are on my website, www.dylangarrettsmith.com, and on Instagram at @dylanxvx!  If you're reading this and my aesthetic fits your band or brand and you'd like to work with me, feel free to email me through my site or at [email protected]!
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Screen Printing Workshop
I had spent the last couple of months of my undergrad in the screen print studio, just before the first COVID-19 Lockdown, so it was great being back. I definitely felt like I've grown as an artist over the past year. Coming back I feel more prepared, focused and full of new ideas. I'm really excited to get back into studio life.
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Screen print is a type of stencil printing, where a screen made of silk/synthetic is stretched across a frame. A stencil is then made using a light sensitive resist and exposed like a photograph, this is the technique that we used in the introduction however a stencil can be made by using lacquer or by laying adhesive paper over the screen. After the image has been stencilled ink or paint is then pushed through the non-blocked areas using a squeegee onto paper below the screen, creating the desired image.
‘The most commonly used and versatile method in practice today uses photo emulsion and computer-generated artwork. This method enables the printing of fine line drawings, small and detailed type, and photographic imagery.’
Williamson, C. (2013). Low-tech Print : Contemporary Hand-made Printing. Laurence King Publishing.
Photo-screenprint can produce some incredibly detailed images which we were able to explore during our introduction. I already knew my way around the studio, however it was nice to be refreshed on the process after being away for so long. I learnt some new little tricks to help with alignment after washing the screen to use another colour. I also took this opportunity to really play around with the process, following Emma’s advice, and not worrying about the outcome. I think that this really helped me explore the detail that textures that can be produced. In the past I focused a lot on block colours and lines to create my images, however moving forward I'd like to include a textured and tonal element to my work. This would help blend colours and add a new element to my image making. After exposing the print, I decided to use black ink for the first couple of prints as I wanted to see how the textures would translate onto paper. Most of the textures came out really well, however where I experimented with ink (the black rectangle) didn't seem to work as well. I think I may have used too much ink so when being exposed the light wasn't able to shine through giving the desired effect.
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Being in a particularly experimental mood I wanted to try something I hadn't done before which was to create a marbling effect with the inks. To do this I added half emulsion and half paint to a pot and gently folded them together without mixing them. I did this with four colours. I then flooded the screen with emulsion and dripped, sprayed and splattered the four half mixed mediums onto the screen. I then pulled the squeegee over the screen to create a marbled effect. The results were great although the image is hard to make out. I tried the again this time using the previously mixed ink, this created a kind of mottled effect, and each time after that the colours began to blend, even when adding new pain directly to the screen. After some trial and error I think I know how to get the best results. By layering a base colour down to define the outline of the shapes should be the first thing to do. Once that's done then use the marbling technique using just emulsion to flood the screen adding the ink mix onto the screen like I did the first time. I realised that I'd have to wash the screen between every print to get the best result as once the paint mixes, the marbling effect is lost.
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The next part of the introduction was a demonstration on how to screen print onto ceramics. The beginning of this process entails screen printing onto a gum transfer plate. The pigment used is finely ground glass. The mixture is very thick and must be printed quickly or it'll dry. Once all colours are printed and have dried, apply tepid water to the desired ceramic surface and gently lay the gum plate over. Add more water to the plate and eventually you will be able to remove the film leaving just the image. Once film has been removed smooth the image to the ceramic surface using a paper towel. Once the image has dried, the ceramic object is then fired in the kiln. Resulting in the image being permanently printed to the surface as well as being water resistant. Introducing ceramics into my artistic practice is a step I have been wanting to take for a while now. I'm lucky that this MA will give me the opportunity to do that! I would love to print my designs onto a ceramic object, ultimately I'd like to be able to throw my own vases and then screen print over the top of them. During the demonstration I learned that printing onto flat surfaces was much easier however if the surface was smooth the image would lay across a curved shape. I realise that I have a long way to go before I will be able to print on a self thrown pot. I'm hoping to book a ceramic workshop after the Easter break as I will then be able to practice, as well as looking online for a cheap throwing wheel to practice on at home!
I think one of the reasons I'm drawn to screen printing is that the possibilities really are endless. I plan to be in the studio a lot over the course of this MA and am really looking forward to developing my visual language as I learn new techniques and grow as a printmaker.
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lamurdiparasian · 7 years
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Printing Tips for Today’s Fabrics Part 3
In an article that was recently featured in Screen Printing Magazine’s October/November 2016 issue, and on Screenweb.com, Kieth Stevens gives us some tips on printing on today’s modern fabrics. Here is Part 3 of the article.
Popular, profitable, and often a pain in the neck to print, the latest fashion fabrics can present quite a challenge to shops accustomed to printing standard plastisols on all-cotton garments.
Garment Considerations Typical plastisol inks cure between 315 and 330 degrees Fahrenheit, which isn’t a problem when printing on cotton substrates. With synthetic performance fabrics, however, such temperatures might be an issue. Beyond dye migration, the garments may even shrink or become deformed. A low-cure additive will allow you to reduce the curing temperature to around 280 degrees Fahrenheit to give you some breathing room.
Always test a garment before a full production run, first to make sure an unfamiliar fabric can withstand the curing temperature, but also to ascertain that the ink is fully cured. A wash test is an ideal indicator of how well the ink is cured. Under-cured ink will wash off – if not entirely, then surely in several spots, most likely in the center of a design. In addition, the ink shouldn’t crack when the fabric is stretched. This could be a sign of under-curing, though with the newer low-cure inks for performance fabrics, it could be a sign that the curing temperature was too high.
Another type of print flaw might not be apparent to consumers until they try the garment on. Many of the newer fabrics being used today, especially for athletic wear, can’t hold up the weight of a standard print like the old cotton standbys. Some garments are so light that even a small print can make the decoration hang or drape stiffly. For these garments, use finer meshes with higher quality inks to reduce the weight of the ink deposit. This makes the design not only look better, but also feel more comfortable when worn.
Heavier garments, on the other hand, may be more prone to a defect known as fibrillation, in which yarn fibers from below the ink surface come through the ink film after washing, making the print appear fuzzy. Certain types of yarn, notably 100-percent cotton but also 100-percent acrylic and acrylic/cotton blends, are more prone to fibrillation than others. The best way to control it is to make sure the ink is fully cured and consider using a slightly coarser mesh count to deposit more ink. Using a matte-down screen after flashing the underbase will also help keep the fibers down and the surface of the print smooth.
Work uniforms present different considerations. More companies today have their logos or slogans screen-printed onto their uniforms rather than embroidered – a nice source of new business for some shops. However, uniforms must withstand an industrial washing process that is far more aggressive than what a standard consumer garment requires. Using a nylon-style catalyst when printing uniforms can dramatically improve the durability of the ink deposit, enabling it to withstand many industrial washes.
Garments with irregular or bumpy surfaces, such as zippers and hoodies, pose unique challenges when these features must be printed over. Often, printers have to improvise a solution in order to get the job done, and it may mean creating a custom platen that conforms to the irregular surface. I once made a platen out of quarter-inch aluminum to fit bobby socks so I could print designs like poodles and dice on the cuffs. Some strategically placed cardboard may also help minimize the bump caused by zippers and buttons.
Finally, fabrics designed to hold up in outdoor conditions can be problematic. Typically, printers use catalysts to help bond the ink to nylon fabrics, but many don’t know that catalysts can also help with especially difficult substrates such as certain polyester outerwear materials and the synthetics used for backpacks. Test it when you’re dealing with a problem fabric to see if it works. Another tip when you’re working with water-repellent fabrics: Try dabbing a little rubbing alcohol over the area to be printed. This may remove some of the water-repellent coating so that the ink with the catalyst can better adhere to the garment.
Test, Test, Test Here is my motto for delivering the best possible outcome for your customer: Thoroughly test all prints and shirts before committing to costs and production methods. Never relax and assume that everything will run like the last time, even for a repeat job. A printer once told me that their customer supplied them with the same nylon jackets as a previous order, yet this time the jackets bled through the white print. What the customer did not tell them was that they had switched manufacturers, so instead of printing nylon again, the shop was dealing with a dyed polyester fabric. That turned out to be a costly mistake, as the bleeding was not discovered until several days after they had completed the job.
Everyone is looking out for themselves and you should be no different. A good customer will understand and appreciate your caution. They may even refer you to others because your service stands out.
Read Part I, Part II
Kieth Stevens is the Western regional sales manager for International Coatings. He has been teaching screen printing for more than 10 years and is a regular contributor to International Coatings’ blogs.
International Coatings manufactures a complete line of Centris™ non-Phthalate screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks,color matching systems, additives and reducers.  In addition, International Coatings also manufactures a line of AXEON™ non-Phthalate, non-PVC special effects inks. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.
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